


Comfort

by nazangel



Series: Batfam [11]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Flufftober2020, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 09:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26849668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazangel/pseuds/nazangel
Summary: Just a series of shots of fathers and kids comforting each other. Written for flufftober2020.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne
Series: Batfam [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744201
Comments: 13
Kudos: 204





	Comfort

The night had been long, and Bruce was ready to throw off his suit, head up and sleep forever.

The plan went entirely out of the window when he saw someone move out of the corner of his eye. He was ready to scold Tim, because who else would it be, for once again working late but then the figure came into view.

It was Jason. He was standing in the middle of the cave, gun in his right and facing the batmobile's tracks. One of his sides was to the entrance, and the other one was towards the tunnel exit. He was still wearing domino, and his still figure was giving Bruce a bad feeling.

"Jason," he called out.

No response.

He tried again, but once again, Jason didn't answer. Just stood there with a rigid posture, absolutely unmoving.

The feeling of wrongness increased.

Slowly, he made his way to his second son, doing good to stay out of the guns range at first. When it became obvious that Jason wasn't going to raise his arm, he moved in front of him.

"Jason," he whispered.

Jason tilted his head, it was a small movement, but it was enough for Bruce.

"Can I take the gun from you, Jason?"

Trembling a little, Jason's hand came up, and Bruce took it, stashing away in his utility belt. He then touched Jason's hand. When Jason didn't pull away, he took the hand and squeezed it.

"Hey, Jay," he murmured, "I'm going to take your domino off, okay?"

Bruce brought his other hand up and gently peeled away the mask, revealing unique blue-green eyes filled with fear and distress.

Bringing his hand up slowly, Bruce cupped Jason's cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb.

It seemed to break the boy of his reverie, and he stumbled forward. His arms came around Bruce, shaking badly. Bruce put his arms around Jason, holding him with all his might.

"Jason? Jay? What wrong, baby?"

"I-I-" Jason's words came out as stutter, "Wa-wanted-be sa-safe"

Safe.

Jason had wanted to be safe. And he had come to the cave. The question was, why not the manor- no Bruce knew why not the manor. The cave had maximum security, and unlike the manor, could only let in a select list of people.

"Okay," he told Jason, "You're safe now, okay?"

Jason let out a whimper and sagged even more. Bruce grunted but easily held up his weight.

"I need to know, Jaylad. Was someone following you?"

Jason tensed, "No. Just a feeling,"

Bruce ran a soothing hand down the boy's back.

Just one of those nights then.

"You know what?" said Bruce, "We can go upstairs and make tea. I can't make it that well, especially like Alfred's, but I know he taught you. You can give m direction, yeah?"

Jason nodded into his shoulder, "Yeah,"

"Good, let's go,"

Bruce quickly had them both change and then led Jason upstairs. The two of them made tea and sat down on the couch. Jason ended up falling asleep there. Bruce didn't have the heart to move Jason, so he fell asleep there too.

In the morning, Jason didn't say anything, but later someone brought him a thermos of Alfred's personal blend of tea at work.

Bruce smiled for the rest of the day.

xxx

Bruce couldn't sleep, so he had decided to read for a bit. Instead of staying in his room, he had come down to the den.

He was reading on the couch when he felt someone plop down beside him. Considering he hadn't heard them, it could only be one person.

"Hello, Cassandra,"

The girl smiled softly and curled up close to him, "Hi,"

"You, okay?"

"Couldn't sleep,"

"Oh?"

"Bad day. Bad night,"

"Ah," said Bruce, "Would you like me to read to you?"

Cassandra nodded.

Bruce nodded and starting reading out loud. He read until his daughter fell asleep, breathing softly at his side.

xxx

Dick was having a bad day. It wasn't even that something had happened. For all intents and purposes, the day had been good. He had been off patrol the night before, had woken up to a sunny Saturday morning, had smiled through a book discussion with Damian, but something in his bones just wasn't making him feel good.

In the evening, he ended up trudging up to Bruce's study. The man was sitting on the sofa, papers spread out in front of him on the coffee table. Dick came and sat beside him and poked him.

"Hey, Dick," he said, briefly looking up.

Dick nudged him with a shoulder, "Give me a hug?"

Bruce's brow furrowed, and he put the papers down, turning to look him over. Dick know what he was looking for. When he had been a kid, instances like this were a lot more common, but as he had grown, he only asked for hugs when the situation was dire.

"You okay, Chum?" the other man asked softly.

"Just a hug," said Dick

Bruce smiled and carefully slipped his arms around Dick. He then pulled him close until he plastered to the man's chest.

Dick's body instantly went lax, a small sigh escaping him.

"Everything okay, Chum?"

"Just a weird day," he told him.

"Okay," murmured Bruce, "Anything I can do?"

"This is fine," said Dick, "Thank you,"

"Anytime, Chum," murmured Bruce, "I love you,"

"Love you too, B,"

xxx

Alfred heard a shout as he passed by Bruce's room. Without hesitating, he opened the room and stepped inside. He found the man feverish and sweaty, most likely in the throes of a nightmare.

The old butler stepped into the bathroom, filled a small bucket with water and grabbed a towel. Sitting down beside the man, he considered a son, and he started to hum an old lullaby as he tried to get the fever down.

Eventually, the fever started to go down, and Bruce opened his eyes, though they were still, and he still seemed to be far away from the true perception of his surroundings.

"Bruce?" asked Alfred, "Are you with me?"

Bruce let out a groan, "Dad,"

Alfred's heart squeezed painfully. Even after all these years, Bruce would call out to a dead man, and it never seized to hurt Alfred's soul. He wished he could take the pain away from him.

"It's alright, Bruce," he murmured, gently pushing his fingers through Bruce's hair, "It's alright,"

"Alfie. Dad,"

Oh

_Oh_

This time when Alfred's heart gave a painful thud, it was for an entirely different reason.

"I'm right, my boy," he said, "I'm right here,"

Alfred stayed seated by his son's bed until the buttery light of morning flitted through the window.

xxx

When Duke startled awake in the dark hours of the morning, he didn't remember the nightmare that had caused it, just that it had left his heart racing.

Making a quick decision, he threw off his covers and jumped out of bed. He made his way down to the kitchen to get some water. Maybe he could revise some of his notes later cause there was no way he was getting back to bed after this.

Duke expected the kitchen to be empty at that time, so he was surprised to find Bruce sitting at the island, nursing a cup of tea, completely dressed in his suit.

"Hey," he said

"Hi, Duke," he said, "Very early start to the day?"

"Not really," he said, "And if anyone's starting early, it's you. Where are you going at...5:00 in the morning?"

"Big meeting," said Bruce, patting the stool beside his, "Wanted to mentally prepare,"

"You need to prepare?" said Duke, bring his water over.

"Everyone needs to prepare," said Bruce with a smile, "Even me,"

"Huh," said Duke, "I feel better about sweating through my presentations,"

Bruce laughed, "So what are you doing up?"

Duke sighed, "I had a nightmare, I think,"

Bruce looked worried, "Anything in particular?"

"Nah," said Duke, "Just woke up feeling antsy. I think I'm still a little freak out about the test today,"

"Anything I can do to help?" asked Bruce

Duke thought about it.

"How much od you know about the Rwandan genocide?"

Bruce smiled, "You in luck,"

"Quiz me?"

"Alright then," said Bruce, "Tell me of the three groups in...?"

They stayed like that with Bruce quizzing him until Alfred came down and reminded the man of his meeting. After. Bruce bolted out of there but not before leaving a quick kiss on uke's forehead.

Duke shook his head as he watched the man run.

xxx

It was Friday evening, and Dick had plans with Bruce to work on a struggling case together. They were going to grab some snacks, head down to the cave and put a few hours in before the family dinner.

Bruce met him in the study, and they both headed through the clock together. Their plan, however, went out the window as soon as they heard the sound of somebody hitting the punching bag. Hard.

There was only one bat other than them in the manor at the moment.

"I thought he took online lessons with his tutor at this time," said Dick

"He does," said Bruce, frowning as his youngest came into view.

Damian was covered in sweat, indicating that he had been there for a while. His muscles were rigid, and his eyes seemed to be far away. Dick wasn't sure he ever heard them.

"Damian," called out Bruce as they got closer.

Damian flinched and whirled around, only relaxing a little once he saw them. He still looked too wound up for Dick's taste.

"We were about to do some stretches," said Dick, "Would you like to join us?"

He could feel Bruce's eyes on him, but the man didn't say anything. Damian hesitated but eventually nodded.

Dick ran to the cabinet and grabbed some mats. They laid them down with Damian in the middle, and Bruce started to lead them through various stretches, the way he had done for them when they had begun training.

Five minutes into their session, Damian started to shake. Then came the sot sniffles, and a few moments later, Damian was sinking to the ground with tears running down his cheeks.

Bruce instantly pulled him in his arms and sat down cross-legged with Damian in his lap. Dick copied his position and sat, so his knees were touching Bruce's. He took Damian's and help between his own two.

"Dami," he asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he hiccupped, "I'm sorry- I."

"Hey," whispered Bruce, pressing a kiss to his hair, "It's okay. You're okay. We just want to know what's going on?"

"I don't know," whispered Damian, "I don't know! I just-everything- Not I-"

"Shh," said Dick, running and through Dami's hair, "It's okay if you can't explain,"

"Would you like to stay here for a while?" said Bruce

"Yes, please," said Damian, hiding his in Bruce's chest. Bruce readjusted his position and held out an arm towards Dick. Dick smiled and moved, so he was holding Damian within the circle of Bruce's arms.

They both held their beloved little boy until his sobs subsided.

xxx

Tim was supposed to be in bed.

And yet, here he was, sitting in the cave and typing away at the computer. Bruce wondered how long he would have stayed if Bruce hadn't come down on a whim.

"Timmy?"

Tim looked up and nodded, instantly going back to his work.

Bruce sighed, "Tim, it's two in the morning. You're supposed to be asleep,"

"I just have to figure this put," he muttered

"You can figure it out tomorrow, Tim," said Bruce, "You need to sleep,"

"But I was supposed to finish this today," he said hurriedly, "I have other things to do tomorrow and leaving this is going to throw off my schedule,"

"Tim," he said gently, stepping closer to his son, "I'm sure you're schedule can we tweaked a bit, Kiddo,"

"No," said Tim, shaking his head, "No it can't! It's the perfect schedule,"

"Tim-"

"Just leave me alone!" he shouted, "I need to finish this!"

Bruce stared at his son wide-eyed, realizing exactly how wound up Tim was. Tim himself seemed to have realized what he was doing and lowered his head in shame.

"I'm sorry," Tim whispered, "But I need to finish this,"

Bruce knelt in front of his boy, "Timmy, you don't need to be perfect. Nobody can be perfect all the time. Nobody expects you to be perfect all the time,"

Time swallowed.

"I expect me to be perfect," said Tim, "I have to be perfect,|

The admission broke Bruce's heart as did the realization that the only reason his son was admitting this was his severe sleep deprivation.

"Oh, Timmy," he whispered, pulling the boy in a hug.

Tim sniffled and hugged Bruce back, "I'm sorry,"

"Not sweetheart," he said, "It's okay,"

Tim didn't say anything in response.

Gently, Bruce pulled away enough to be able to look at the boy's face.

"Here's what we're gonna do," said Bruce, "We're gonna go to sleep. Tomorrow, whenever you wake up, we're going to take a day off, go to the park, take some pictures and just have a relaxing day. How does that sound?"

"But the work-"

"Does not come before your health," he said firmly

Finally, Timmy nodded, "Okay,"

"Good," said Bruce, "Let's get you to bed, okay?"

"Can I stay with you?"

Bruce smiled and gave Tim's head a kiss.

"Of course,"

xxx

Dick was exhausted. From the way Bruce was dragging his feet, he was too.

They had finally put a rest to their smuggling case and Dick was ready to collapse into bed and-

Damian was in the cave.

Dick sighed. He loved the boy very very much. But he was becoming a demanding teen, a side effect of being in an emotionally and physically dangerous situation his childhood. And while everyone in the family, especially Bruce and Dick, had no problem dealing with him, he was just too exhausted.

Still, Dick put on a smile and called out to Damian.

"Hey, Dami! What are you doing up?"

"I brought you tea," said Damian.

And sure enough, there was tea sitting at one of the desks.

"Well, thank you, Damian," said Bruce, starting to take off his gear.

"And I was thinking I could sort through your reports and notes while you change and drink," said Damian, blushing a little and avoiding eye contact.

Dick met Bruce's eyes and raised an eyebrow.

Was Damian trying to take care of them?

Bruce shrugged and smiled at his youngest, "That's very kind of you, Damian. Thank you,"

Damian nodded and went to the bat computer, bringing up their most recent documents. Once both men had changed, they sat down at the med bay where e Damia insisted on patching them up. The wounds weren't so bad, so they let him.

Afterwards, as they sipped their tea, he kept trying to discreetly check on them, reheating their tea, bringing them snacks and cleaning their things.

Eventually, Bruce sent Damian upstairs, citing his bedtime.

"Adorable, isn't he?" said Dick

"Oh, definitely," said Bruce, "Reminds me of another very helpful little boy,"

Dick smiled so wide that it hurt. He had never felt happier.

xxx

Bruce was annoyed.

The patrol from last night had ended with a twisted ankle, which in itself was not a bad injury. However, Alfred had used it as an excuse to have him rest on his bed and without seeing any way out, Bruce had done just that.

What he hadn't realized at the time was that Alfred had taken away all his tablets and reports, making sure that he wasn't working at all and property resting.

So now, here was sitting alone in bed, bored and annoyed out of his mind.

He was still bemoaning his situation when there was a soft knock on his door.

Cassandra.

"Come in," he called out

Cassandra opened the door and came in followed by his menagerie of children. Jason was holding a stack of pizzas, Tim had his laptop and Duke and Dick were wheeling in their projector. Barbara came in holding drinks and Stephanie seemed to be having a hand-slap fight with Damian.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Bruce

"Keeping you company," said Tim, "And entertaining you,"

"Yeah, Pops," said Jason, "We know ya. You're probably climbing out of your skin by now,"

Bruce snorted but didn't deny it.

"So B," said Barbara, "What do you wanna watch?"

"What are my options?" asked Bruce

"Please tell Grayson, no more Disney," said Damian, "I can't stand those things anymore,"

"It's cause they make him feel emotions," crowed Stephanie

"Shut up, Brown," growled Damian

"Damian," Dick warned

Damian huffed but refrained from saying anything else.

"So?" said Dick, "What it will be, Bruce?"

"Let's watch Ghostbusters," Bruce, "Any objections?"

There were none so Tim started to set it up. Once it was done they all quickly sat down around him. Damian took his right and Jason took his left. Stephanie and Cassandra curled up at the foot of the bed and Barbare wheeled closer to them. Tim plopped and Duke plopped down at Jason's side while Dick contorted himself around Damian. After some grumbling, Damian took it in stride.

They passed around the food as the movie started playing and everyone settled in to watch.

Within ten minutes, Bruce's day had gone from miserable to spectacular.

xxx

Alfred rarely indulged in alcohol. But occasionally, when his charges were away, he would grab a bottle of expensive scotch and pour himself a glass, maybe even two.

Today was one such day or night he should say. Alfred had long stopped having regular nightmares from his early life but occasionally one slipped through. Pair that with a much empty manor and Alfred had found himself picking up the bottle.

Bruce was the only one in the place and there wasn't any chance of him stumbling to Alfred's private rooms at this time.

At least that's was what he thought.

He was still nursing his first one when the room to the drawing-room slowly opened, revealing Bruce at the door dressed in his nightclothes.

For a second, Alfred flashed back to a little boy coming to see him so he could chase away the nightmares.

Brushing the memories away, he tried to put the bottle away quickly but Bruce was quicker.

He smiled as he came, slower, covering one of Alfred's hands.

"I'm not a little boy anymore, you know," said Bruce, voice soft, "You don't have to do that,"

If Alfred was a different man, he would have cried. Instead, being who he was, he faintly nodded and made room was the other man.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Alfred," said Bruce.

"Why did you?" said Alfred, "You hardly come in here, especially without knocking,"

Bruce smiled a little sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck, "Uh...I just...You know, had a feeling,"

Alfred raised his eyebrows. Interesting.

"What exactly am I interrupting?" asked Bruce

"Just an old man's rough night," said Alfred, gently swirling the scotch but then putting it down.

"Would you like me to leave?"

The proper British gentleman and father inside him said yea. He was the man's butler, his problems were not Bruces's. He was the man's father too, or at least he thought of himself that way, Bruce shouldn't have to see him down like this.

But another, tired part wouldn't mind the company.

He must have stayed quiet too long because Bruce gently smiled and put his arm around his shoulders.

"You know what," said Bruce, "I'm going to read you, Shakespeare,"

"Oh?" said Alfred as Bruce pulled up the plays on his phone.

"King Lear alright with you?"

Alfred smiled, "Just fine, my boy,"

Bruce read him the whole play of King Lear until he started to doze off. Afterwards, he gently kissed his cheek and bid him a good night. The old butler went to sleep feeling content and relaxed.

In the morning he woke up to find a table filled with breakfast and surrounded by his family. The menu had been prepared by Jason and Stephanie apparently and they had all made their way to the manor just for it.

Alfred didn't think he could love his family more.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! Comments and Kudos are appreciated.


End file.
